Don Siegelman needs your help to survive Rove/Holder’s effort to destroy him

Dear Friend,

Leura Canary, one of the last Bush-appointed US Attorneys, led the politically-motivated prosecution against me.

Not coincidentally, Leura Canary also happens to be Karl Rove’s best friend’s wife — and after retiring recently, according to sources, is currently the target of a federal Department of Justice investigation. (You can read the full report from Robert Shuler at the end of this email.)

It’s just one more sign that the wheels of justice are grinding, ever so slowly — but I need your help to keep pushing until the truth comes out.

Let me be clear: I was never bribed. I never solicited a bribe. I never broke the law. In fact, I was never accused of taking a single penny. I was the fourth Governor of Alabama to appoint this same man to this same non-paying board, and that’s the crux of the prosecution’s case!

Ninety-one former state Attorneys General said there is no crime in what I did. The U.S. Supreme Court has said there is no crime in giving or receiving a contribution and then doing something favorable for the contributor if there was no deal, no explicit “quid pro quo.”

After all, if any politician who took action in accordance with the wishes of a supportive campaign contributor were prosecuted under the same standard I was, then Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, every Member of Congress, every Governor, every Mayor, and every state legislator would be locked up.

No, this was a partisan witch-hunt, pure and simple, cooked up by Karl Rove, Leura Canary, and the Republican Party to try to put me away for good because they disagree with my politics. They couldn’t beat me fair and square, so they targeted me with this politically-motivated, unfounded prosecution.

They abused our system of justice and they abused the public trust. And I’ll never stop fighting until the truth wins out. Will you stand with me?

Will the news of Leura Canary’s investigation itself finally be the canary in the coal mine that leads my case to be overturned?

With your help, it may be.

Thank you for all you have done and will do to help me continue to fight for justice in this case and across our country.

Sincerely,

Bush-Era U.S. Attorney Is the Target of a Federal Investigation

Mrs. William Canary (Leura), the Alabama Middle District US Attorney, retires under a cloud of questions about being the target of a current Federal Investigation.

Leura Canary, the notorious Bush-appointed prosecutor who was at the heart of the Don Siegelman case, is the focus of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, sources tell Legal Schnauzer.

Canary announced her retirement as U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama on May 26. But sources say the ongoing federal investigation is the real reason Canary stepped down, even though Obama nominee George Beck has not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Louis Franklin will serve as acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District, pending Beck’s confirmation.

A long-awaited Alabama federal bingo prosecution, featuring gambling magnate Milton McGregor and a number of state legislators, begins today in Montgomery. It is expected to last about two months and figures to be the biggest story of the summer in Alabama. But the investigation of Canary could prove to be the far bigger story, with potentially major ramifications on the national stage.

After all, the Canary investigation could lead to individuals who have helped shape her political agenda, such as former Bush White House strategist Karl Rove and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue. The investigation also could show that the Obama Justice Department is not as useless as it currently appears, indicating Attorney General Eric Holder is willing to “look backwards” at apparent misconduct of the previous administration.

Technically, Canary has been under investigation by the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) since June 2008. But we’ve seen no sign that Canary actually has been under genuine scrutiny. Sources, however, say that changed about two months ago–and the investigation now is serious enough that it prompted Canary to “retire.”

Who is leading the Canary investigation? Why did it suddenly heat up about two months ago? What is the focus of the probe (the Siegelman case, the bingo case, something else, all of the above)? We don’t have the answers to those questions yet. But sources say that Leura Canary, for perhaps the first time since her appointment, is feeling real heat.

One source, with close ties to the Middle District office, was “shocked” to hear of Canary’s retirement. The U.S. attorney had made “adamant promises” to her staff that she would not leave until her successor was confirmed, our source says.

What could a genuine investigation of Leura Canary mean on the national level? Her husband, Bill Canary, is president of the Business Council of Alabama and a long-time ally of Thomas Donohue and Karl Rove. In fact, Canary and Rove used funds from the U.S. Chamber and other corporate sponsors in the 1990s to help turn Alabama’s Supreme Court from Democratic to Republican control.

It’s hard to imagine that an investigation of Leura Canary would not encompass her husband. If both Canarys wind up under the white-hot light, they could point investigators to the individuals and entities who have been pulling their strings. That could lead to Tom Donohue, Karl Rove, the U.S. Chamber, even the Bush White House.

Is there some wishful thinking on my part in that last paragraph? Yes there is. Since news outlets reported that Florida suddenly had turned in George W. Bush’s favor on election night 2000, we have seen one Republican scandal after another covered up or ignored. Obama’s utter failure on justice issues, so far, has been shameful for a president who pledged to change the toxic environment he inherited.

As a colossal cynic on justice matters, I fully expect Leura Canary and her henchmen to somehow wriggle off the hook. But for the first time in 10-plus years, I’m seeing a glimmer of hope that someone in authority might be taking Alabama’s justice cesspool seriously.

Leura Canary played a leading role in creating that cesspool, and sources say the seat under her fanny is getting warm. If justice still matters at all in this country, Canary’s seat soon will become scorching hot. And some of her puppeteers might start feeling a tad uncomfortable, too.

Orwell Rolls In His Grave, featuring MCM – Buy the DVD

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